Pit of Darkness

PIT OF DARKNESS is another decent British B-film written and directed by Lance Comfort. He seems to have a good run of them in the early 1960s, making every penny of his low budgets count, and as a result this densely-plotted story is one of the better Butcher's Film Service outings in existence.

The film features everyman lead William Franklyn as a kind of proto Bourne, waking up with no memory after suffering a violent assault. The last three weeks of his life are a blur, but it soon transpires that he's been involved with some dodgy characters who haven't quite finished with him. Comfort keeps you guessing as to the outcome of the story, and all is eventually revealed via a lengthy flashback.

This is one of those films where everything just gels together quite nicely. It's certainly not the best of its kind but it's also hard to fault. Franklyn is a dependable lead but the supporting cast is even better. Nigel Green is the authoritative and a youthful Anthony Booth a spiv type. Nanette Newman makes an impact as a woman caught up in the plot. Leonard Sachs is a slimy villain and the delightful Michael Balfour a henchman who shows up towards the end. The climactic scenes in particular are quite exciting and overall PIT OF DARKNESS is sure to be enjoyed by fans of this genre.